Judge strips admitting privileges from abortion law

The exterior of Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery, an abortion clinic that would have been affected by hospital admitting privilege requirements struck down by a judge.

(bn)

An Alabama judge has permanently stripped from state law a requirement that abortion providers have admitting privileges at local hospitals.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued the ruling Friday. He ruled against the state in 2014 in a lawsuit filed by providers, but the latest development extends that decision to all abortion clinics.

In his decision, Thompson said the impact of the law would be enormous. Many of the state's abortion clinics would close if the law were enforced, he wrote.

"The staff-privileges requirement would make it impossible for a woman to obtain an abortion in much of the State," he wrote. "It is certain that thousands of women per year--approximately 40 percent of those seeking abortions in the State--would be unduly burdened."

Alabama legislators passed the Women's Health and Safety Act in 2013, but it was quickly blocked by the courts. Thompson declared the law unconstitutional in 2014.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of similar abortion restrictions in Texas. Justices heard arguments in that case just a few weeks ago.

Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, issued a statement via email.

"We applaud the court for protecting women's access to safe, legal abortion in Alabama," she wrote. "As a health care provider, we've seen the grim consequences for women when politicians put safe abortion out of reach. When a similar law in Texas went into effect, our health centers were flooded with calls from women who weren't sure where they could now turn for care. If the Supreme Court upholds the Texas law, this could become a reality for women across the country."